XtobQ 



3S"o. 69. 
A SOLDIER'S MEMORIAL OF M.— H.— 

LATE SERSKAN-r IN THE 18lH ROYAL IRISH REGT. 



THE subject of the following narrative was a soldier in one 
of Queen Victoria's regiments of foot ; and the narrative is 
written by a Christian soldier, who was the instrument iu 
the Lord's hands for bringing him to the knowledge of the 
truth, and who saw him the day he entered into his rest. 

I first became acquainted with M — IT — in the year 1854, 
win . on leave of absence, after his return from India, and 
previously to his departure with his regiment to the seat of 
war. I then recommended to him the gospel of the grace of 
God, as the only source of present happiness, and final vic- 
tory : but, like most young men in the army, he cared for 
none of these things. He was then about twenty-two years 
of age, nearly six feet in height, and full of health and vigor. 
In due time he sailed for tho Crimea, and I heard no more of 
him for about three years. 

In September 1857, we met again for the first time. A 
great chango had taken place in his appearance. He looked 
pale and emaciated ; so much so, that I did not know him for 
some time. He informed me that his health became impaired 
in the Crimea, and that, upon his return home, he was dis- 
charge, from the service with a small pension. I then con- 
versed with him on the all important subject of the gospel 
of Christ, pointing out its suitableness to the wants of a 
sinner. He appeared to have read the Bible only to cavil at 
its truths and its inspiration. I endeavored to answer his 
objections. I brought before Lim man's fallen state by na- 
ture in the sight of a holy and sin-hating God, and pointed 
out the absolute necessity of a change of heart, and the 



l A A SOIiMB* S MEMORIAL., 

teaching of the Holy Spirit. I then read part of Luko xv., 
and other suitable portions of God's word. His temper 
manifested itself more than once during our conversation ; so 
that he astonished those who heard his opposition to the 
plain declarations of God's word. I pointed out the folly 
and wickedness of fighting against the Scriptures, and re- 
commended him to read them with reverence, assuring him 
that, when blessed by the Holy Spirit, the passages which 
he now cavilled at would be made plain to him. I remained 
upwards of an hour with him, and went away much pained 
by the spirit which he manifested. I prayed that the Lord 
would subdue the enmity of his heart by his almighty 
power. 

On September 12th, shortly after our first interview, I 
had another opportunity of conversing with him. He did 
not exhibit the same unsubdued spirit as before, but lis- 
tened with attention to the Scriptures, and asked several 
questions, particularly with reference to the " new birth." 
He said, " I heard a sermon on Sunday last, in which the 
preacher declared that we were made the children of God 
by baptism. I referred to Simon the sorcerer, who, although 
baptized, remained in the " gall of bitterness, and in the 
bond of iniquity." I then explained to him that regenera- 
tion, or the new birth, is the work of the Holy Ghost in jthe 
soul, making us new creatures in Christ Jesus I fur her 
referred to James i. 18, and 1 Peter i. 23, as showing that the 
word of God is the great instrument which he is pleased to 
use in regeneration ; concluding my observations on this sub- 
ject by reading John iii. 1 — 16, and Titus iii. 3 — 7. Our 
conversation then turned on God's way of justifying sinners, 
namely, through faith in the glorious person and finished re- 
demption of Christ Jesus ; and after a long and interesting 
visit we parted. 

I called afterwards on several occasions, but dii not find 
him. On the 29th of December, I went to a hospital in the 
town where I was staying, for the purpose of visiting a pa- 
tient. As I was leaving, I learned that my friend M — H — 
was then a patient in the hospital, and I asked to see him. 
He received me most kindly. Observing a Bible on his 
pillow, I read Ps. xxxii. 1, 2., and compared it with Rom. 
iv. 3 — 8, pointing out the blessedness of being justified 
freely and fully by grace, through faith. He listened with 
anxious attention, and for the first time we knelt together 
at the throne of grace. 

Nearly three months passed, and I had only one short 
oonversafciem with him. On the 23rd of March, we met 



A SOiDI&R * WK»BML. 

again. He gave me a hearty welcome. His health was 
much impaired, but his countenance indicated joy and peace 
within. He then told me fully concerning the work of God 
in his soul, stating that the doctrine of I'rce and Bove 
grace, which lie at first r< ia now the sure founda- 

tion of his hope. It cheered my heart to hear him make 
the following statement, " I am a poor wretched sinner, 
without any power to help myself, but trusting to Jesus 
who kills and makes alive — makes poor, and then makes 
rich — who, in a moment of time, can call the sinner to him- 
self, working his own will." Such were The scriptural views 
be entertained of himself, and of the power of the God of 
all grace. 

In consequence of his change of residence. I lost sight of 
him for some weeks, but was most anxious to see him <>u 
the 26th of April 1 received a note from a friend of his, sta- 
ting his address, and requesting me t<» call upon him. On 
the following day I went to hi* lodgings, and found him in a 
lonely upper room, under the care of an riged widow with 
whom he lodged. He was confined to bed, and in a very del- 
icate state, suffering much pain from a severe and constant 
cough. We conversed freely for about an hour. There was 
great earnestness of spirit in his conversation, and a deep 
feeling of love for souls. He observed : " S — W — called to 
see me. I spoke io him of Jesus with all the earnestness of 
a dying man. Oh ! I could desire tbac every poor sinner 
knew Jesus. In the adjoining room I hear the poor Roman 
Catholics daily crying to the virgin Mary. I pray for them 
that they may be brought to trust in Jesus." I reminded 
him of Ezekiel xxxiv. 11: "I, even I, will both search my 
sheep, and seek them out." I then dwelt on the love, grace, 
faithfulness and power of the " G 

the perfect redemption h< omplished for us; t tie lull 

and present justification we now receive through him; and 
our privilege of rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. He 
replied, " Christ is all and in all to me. All that I can want 
or desire for time and eternity is in him. Oh, the goodness 
of the Lord to me a sinner!" I referred to Eph. iv. 14 — 16, 
and spoke of the Lord Jesus as the head of his body, the 
church, every member being vitally united to him by the 
effectual working of the Holy Spirit, and receiving daily 
supplies of grace and sp»ritnal nourishment <■<'.* of Id- ful 
ness. From the . 1 point.i 

. 

He enjoyed- these comforting Scriptures, and, notwith- 
standing the severity of his cough, gave utterance to the 



4 k SOLDIER S MEMORIAL. 

happy state of his soul in the following words, spoken with 
his eyes raised heavenward : " I want realization — I want to 
realize more of the Lord's loving kindness to me. I have no 
anxiety about temporal matters ; I believe he will never leave 
nor forsake me ; but I want to know more of his boundless 
love towards me." I replied, " My dear friend, he will 
grant you your heart's desire. It is the office of the Holy 
Spirit to glorify Jesus, and comfort the hearts of his people. 
The Lord Jesus, in speaking of the Holy Ghost, said, 'lie 
shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show 
it unto you;' Let us be much in prayer that the Holy Spirit 
may take of Christ's righteousness, atonement, and all-pre- 
vailing intercession, and reveal them fully to our souls, The 
promise is sure : " All thy children shall be taught of the 
Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children." We then 
conversed on our " inheritance," and our title to it. He re- 
joined, "Yes, Chist is our title — Christ is our all." We con- 
cluded our meeting with the following lines, and prayer : — 

" When I can read my title clear 

To mansions in the skies, 
I'll bid farewell io every fear, 
And wipe my weeping eyes." 

On May 4th I visited him again. A manifest change in 
his appearance had taken place since I last saw him. He 
lay pale and weak, but calm and resigned to his Heavenly 
Eather's will. I did not hear a single murmur from him du- 
ring his illness. He observed, " Dr. W. was here this morn- 
ing; he is a Christian man ; I asked him to give me his opin- 
ion candidly. He "said, 'I won't deceive you: both your 
lungs are gone, you cannot rally more than a month or two.' " 
He received this answer with much calmness, and observed 
with a smile, " The Lord Jesus Christ is better to me than 
my two lungs ; blessed be his holy name, I shall shortly be 
with him." Thus he was enabled to view his dissolution, not 
only with a tranquil, peaceful mind, but also with a holy 
joy, in hope of being present with the Lord. He was too 
weak to bear much reading- I quoted, however, some of the 
comforting promises of God's word, and joined with him in 
prayer. 

On May 11th I found him much weaker in body, but strong 
in the Lord. As the outward man perished, the inward man 
was strengthed and renewed. He took hold of my hand, and 
said, " I am very weak to-day, I cannot speak or hear much 
— I have to write what I want on this slate, as it pains me 
to speak. But I have no fear of death, for, blessed fe# the 



A SOLDIERS MEMOMAL. 5 

name of the Lord, all is well — I have peace through Christ." 
Seeing his weakness, I only repeated a few verses of the 
latter part of Hebrews vi., and reminded him of the exceed 
great and precious promises of the gospel, and that Jesus, as 
our " forerunner," has entered within the vail, and will come 
and aeceive us unto himself. My reference to this passage 
gave him much comfort. 

May the 20th was the last time I saw him. Nature was 
almost exhausted, but grace had . triumphed. His entrance 
upon death's dark valley was at hand, but he was safe in the 
keeping: of the Lord his shepherd. His nurse observed, " You 
need not speak to him, he cannot understand what you say 
now, he is drawing near his end." I sat sometime at his 
bed-side, lie seemed, however, to take no notice of me. 
After a little time, I drew near, and said, il M — do you know 
me?" I received no answer. I then said, "Do you know 
the Lord Jesus?" He looked at me. and replied, with a 
smife, ll Ah! yes, my heart and soul are continually upon 
him." It was enough, and I said no more. The name of 
Jesus had touched a chord in his soul, when every oiher 
name was heard in silence : — 



" How sweet the name of Jesua sounds 
Iii a believer's ear." 

1 went to another pa-t of the room to speak with the 
nurse. I heard him distinctly repeat the name of Christ 
several times, Having for the last time commended my dear 
departing friend to our covenant-keeping God, I left, thank- 
ful for what I had witnessed of the power of the grace of 
God. 

Shortly after I had left him, he was visited by a Christian 
lady, who had ministered to his wants during his illness, 
During her visit, he entered into his rest, and joined the 
" great multitude," which stand before the throne, ascribing 
11 salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb." 

And now will the careless or worldly man call all this 
blessed reality a dream ? Was M— II — in 1854 the same 
man as M — II — in 1858? Would his former comrades 
have said so? They would not, they could not have under- 
stood the nature of the change; but they would have ac- 
knowledged that their fine, manly comrade of 1854 was one 
of themselves, careless, ungodly, profane ; and that the poor, 
weak, exhausted sufferer of 1858, full of peace, aud hope and 
}f)y\ raw Hot one like themselves, bnt a changed man, Y&s ; 



O A SOMIER S MEMORIAL. 

religion in such cases as tbis is a reality, which even the igno- 
rant and worldly will rarely question. 

Some, however, may say that it was the loss of his health 
which made him religious; that while hfi had his health and 
strength, be cared nothing about the Lord or his trut'- ; and 
that it was only when he ; became sick, and weak, and afraid of 
death, that he became religious. 

Ae a matter of fact, M — H— was not afraid of death. It 
is true n.any are brought to the Lord, when health, or riches, 
or honors fail, Manasseh was an instance of this. It is, 
however, not true that loss of health and strength, or of 
riches or honors, have ever of themselves brought a man to 
the Lord, or will ever do so. The subject of this memoir re- 
joiced in the thought, that the change in him was produced, 
not by the loss of health, but by the Spirit of God. And he 
rejoiced, in it, because, though it humbled himself, it made 
him sure that the work was real. Many of his comrades 
lived without God, and, alas ! died without God. Neither 
sickness, nor weakness brought them to the Lord. Many, on 
the contrary, in their full health and strength, were brought 
to God. They honored Lhm in their lives, and he carried 
them triumphantly through death. The noble Havelock, the 
conqueror in a dozen successive battles, was as much the sim- 
ple follower of Jesus — was as much relying upon his grace, 
and knew as well that his pardon was sealed by the blood of 
the Lamb, when, in full strength of mind and body, he was 
driving his enemies before him — as when, worn out with anx- 
iety and fatigue, he gave up his spirit to his Lord in the Al- 
umbagh Fort. The gallant and high-spirited Hedley Vicars 
had as thoroughly humbled himself to Christ — had as truly 
sought peace and pardon in Christ in the West Indies, when, 
in the lull tide of youth and health, he laid his Bible open in 
his room, and (to use his own happy words) ' ; nailed hi 3 col- 
ors to the mast" — as when, having received his death-wound 
in the trenches, he surrendered his spirit to God who gave it. 
But why do I speak of these? We have thank God, in the 
'army a cloud of witnesses — officers, non-commissioned officers, 
and privates — who, in perfect health of mind and body, have 
confessed, and would confess, that they need Jesus — who cast 
themselves as entirely on his mercy, trust as simply to his 
precious blood, as they will ever do when weakness and dis- 
ease lay them low on a bed of languishing and fieath. 

Perhaps the reader of this tract is a soldier. Are you then 
among this cloud of witnesses ? Has tbe grace that made 
Havelock and Hedley Vicars humble followers of Christ, the 
grac^ that converted M — H— -, as yet converted you 1 God 



A SOLfelER S MEMORIAL. 



grant that you may be numbered with the noble and happy 
band of godly soldiers ! But seek Christ and his salvation. 
Go to him as a sinner, confessing your guilt, and imploring 
his free forgiveness. Believe in him ; cleave to him with un- 
divided heart, But do not delay. Life to all is uncertain ; 
but to whom more so than to a soldier 1 



THE BIBLE IN" THE FRONT. 



IN our old company was a smart young fellow. lie was 
unpretending, quiet and honest, lie was but little im- 
pressed with piety, and religion had little or no hold on hitJ 
heart. We noticed that he had a beautiful little Testa- 
ment, that he always placed away with care on occasions 
of *' packing tbc knapsack." At times he seemed to strug- 
gle with the evils which surrounded him in camp. His 
military duties were performed with alacrity; nor was he 
ever dissatisfied because things were not such as they 
might be. But we never saw him reading the Testament 
which he prized so highly. It was his mother's last and 
only gift, which he received, with her blessing, when he 
left home for the war. Alas ! he was blind to his eternal 
wants. He perused it not ; the Testament was his altar, 
without the worship or prayer to satisfy the soul's de- 
sires. In one of the terrific combats in which our regi- 
ment had the honor to participate, the enemy were favored 
with momentary success, and we were forced to fall back. 
As we crossed a small stream, the young soldier whis- 
pered in our ear, a tear trickled down his manly cheek, 
and his frame shook with emotion, u I'm going back for 
my Testament in the knapsack." " No, no ; let us on to 
the next line of battle," we said, as a shower of bullets 
whistled around us, tearing up the ground, and felling 
more than one poor fellow. " I'll have it, or meet the 
worst; it is mother's," he quietly uttered, recrossing the 
stream, and dashing into a strip of woods towards the com- 
ing enemy. This was the last wq saw of him till abou* 



S A SO&»lER's .MEMORIAL. 

Ihree weeks ago. He had reached his knapsack, took his 
Testament and placed it in his pocket, when he was wounded 
in tbe shou der, and the next moment was surrounded and 
a prisoner. 

Finally he was exchanged, and his wound healing, he 
was sent to his regiment. But what cheered him in his 
lonely hours in prison ? Had he no words of comfort, no 
consolation in his weary, painful confinement? Ab, yes ! 
He thought of what he had risked his life for a second time, 
How dearly he obtained the " lost Testament" — his moth- 
er's token — to lead him to the eternal cityofjoj'! And 
then he read it ; the oftener he Tead it, the more he saw he 
was a sinner. As he perused it, day after day, his impris- 
onment became light ; the hours flew swiftly by. Then came 
his freedom, but before it the liberty of the soul to have an 
interest in Jesus. Before his exchange, came the glorious 
light of the everlasting Gospel, in place of being Satan's 
prisoner. Now he reads his Testament daily. 



RICHMOND, VA! 
i'SERBYTERIAN COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION 



Hollinger Corp. 
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